Morley man says he rode out tornado face down in field

MORLEY, Mo. -- Farmer Dean Miles on Sunday afternoon lay face-down on the ground of his property in Morley, covering his head from flying debris during what he said was a tornado.

Miles was outside when he saw the Cookson Seed building across the field explode "like two sticks of dynamite." He got in a truck in an attempt to drive away from the tornado, but the truck wouldn't start. Miles' first instinct afterward was to hit the ground, he said. He laid between a large machine shed where he stores hay and equipment and his office building.

Miles said dodging the flying debris was like playing dodge ball with your life, and flying pieces of metal would've "cut you up like bacon."

A 2-by-4 flew above Miles' head and through a window of his office building. Had Miles been sitting in the office at the time, he would've been dead, he said.

Miles compared his sight of a tornado to the movie "Twister." A neighboring mobile home was blown off its foundation, and another behind Miles' office building was destroyed.

Men worked Monday afternoon to repair damage to the roof of Miles' large machine shed it sustained during the severe weather.

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Pertinent address:

Morley, MO